Sunday, February 26, 2017

Dub techno takes
on many forms, most of them dull as ditchwater, but releases on Echocord
normally strike a competent balance between chin stroking and throwing shapes.
This release by Tilliander keeps the bpms at a serviceable level while dwelling
in a shadowy netherworld of synthetic neuroses. ‘Risset’ stands out, due to its
engagement with echo and reggae, Oliveros for its chiasmic, unhurried, almost Asiatic
overtones and ‘Storet’ for giving yet another layer to the tried and tested
Basic Channel-influenced soundscape. All good, but rather antiseptic.

Right from the
first few notes, you can see why Fred P thought this would be a good fit for
his label. The deep house seam doesn’t have much left in it, and a release like
this is largely preaching to the converted, but it’s a potent message in the
right hands, and Mr. P is a curator of some renown, so the quality control is
strong in this one. It’s left up to ‘Reminiscence to go out on a limb,
and Iit succeeds, its self-contained randomness making a real
impression. Both other tracks are pretty strong too, with ‘Fill The Colours
With Soen’ the more energetic accompaniement to ‘Train Of Vicissitudes’ parallax
lope.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

There’s not a lot
on first listen to gush about on this release, but if you want three meat and
potatoes dubby beasts to guide you through life’s more trying times, then you
should give this release serious consideration. You’ve heard it all before but
that doesn’t matter when it’s this well executed. ‘Flow’ is the standout here, sounding
like a more aquatic version of ‘Wax 10001 B’, it does everything you want of
it. ‘Nucleus’ has a grandiose, confident lilt to its bass-heavy plod, while ‘Accumbens’
rounds things off by refusing to go out on a limb. Familiarity doesn’t always
breed contempt.

A polyvalent crew
straight out of French France, Masomenos team up with Ark and Pit Spector for
an EP that brings the guests’ influences to the table, while not letting them
take over proceedings. ‘Les Acolytes Anonymes’, however, is recognizably clipped
and concise Ark, but the other two tracks he features in are more fluid,
particularly ‘Au Haut Eau’; ‘OK Carole’ being a somnolent sound wave by
comparison. Pit Spector’s contribution is the funkiest thing here, a lively,
tropically driven piece of percussive minimalism which rounds off this
throwback feeling release.

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Cacophonous Bling

Review/Feedback Policy

No star or grading system. Everything reviewed on this blog has been done so without having first listened to the release. I think this is one way to remain impartial. Feedback will be stated as such and should not be viewed as a full review, just an impression.